The harmful and damaging effects of the sun's ultraviolet rays have been well documented. These effects can be intensified at the beach. Umbrellas are often used to provide protection from both weather and the damaging ultraviolet rays of the sun, especially at the beach. These umbrellas typically include an umbrella canopy and an umbrella pole. In some instances, it is desired to anchor the umbrella pole into a ground or beach surface. In these instances, the canopy is attached to the top end of the umbrella pole, and the other end of the pole is typically anchored into a ground surface. Anchoring an umbrella's pole into a ground surface eliminates the need for an individual to hold the umbrella, and allows freedom of movement in and out of the area where the umbrella provides its protection. However, anchoring traditional umbrellas can sometimes be difficult or cumbersome, especially if the ground surface into which the umbrella is to be anchored is hard.
Various attempts have been made to provide devices for anchoring umbrellas into a ground surface. Anchoring devices have been suggested that are designed to be screwed into a ground surface on one end, and another end in which to secure the bottom end of an umbrella. Such devices can be found in Andiarena, U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,077, Plourde, U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,918, Rodriguez et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,978, Buttimore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,944, McDaniel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,304, Goldberg et al., U.S. Pat. No. D402,803, Perls, U.S. Pat. No. D371,901, and Tropiano, U.S. Pat. No. D394,544. A disadvantage of having a separate anchor into which an umbrella pole is inserted is that it is necessary to transport both the umbrella and the separate anchoring device to the point of use. Additionally, the orifice in the anchor into which the umbrella pole is to be inserted can become clogged with sand or such in the installation process.
Another beach umbrella anchoring means requires attaching the umbrella pole to a bucket-like anchor device and burying the anchor in the sand (Buttimore, U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,944). However, the '944 device is also a component separate from the umbrella itself. Another device suggested for anchoring umbrellas into a ground surface has provided an umbrella comprising an umbrella pole and one or more umbrella canopies, with an attached handle for forcing the umbrella standard into the ground surface. Griggs, U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,720. However, to anchor the umbrella disclosed in Griggs '720, one is taught to urge the umbrella pole into the ground surface by rotating while pushing downward on the pole, and depends on the strength of the user to accomplish its anchoring feature.
A further umbrella device is disclosed by Pesaturo, U.S. Pat. No. 2,759,486. The Pesaturo device includes a slide hammer mechanism. In the Pesaturo device, two anvils are affixed to the umbrella pole and a hammer is slideably disposed between them. Impacting the hammer upon either anvil allows the user to drive the umbrella pole into the ground surface, or upwardly force the umbrella standard from the ground surface. Pesaturo '486 however requires the addition of three heavy pieces of metal to the umbrella pole. This makes the umbrella appreciably heavier and requires the user to devote more resources to carrying an umbrella with a hammer and two anvils in addition to other items that would normally be transported on an outing where such an umbrella is used.
It would be beneficial to have available a self-anchoring beach umbrella wherein the umbrella incorporates a means for facilitating the anchoring of the umbrella without requiring separate hardware or additional mass to accomplish.